Most of the time, household items don’t come with instructions detailing how often you should clean them, and that causes some confusion. After all, what you consider “clean” might be different from what your neighbor or friend thinks is “clean.” But just because something looks clean, it doesn’t mean it actually is clean. Other factors matter when you think about how clean and fresh an item is.
The good news is you aren’t limited to just using your nose to make a guess about cleanliness. There are some science-based standards you can follow if you want to keep your home as clean and healthy as possible.
Pillowcases, kitchen towels, sheets, bath towels, pillows, area rugs, curtains, and other types of household linens all require different cleaning schedules. Whether it’s to prevent infection from common bacteria like E. coli or to eliminate germs from COVID-19, you can limit your exposure to dirt, viruses, allergens, and other biohazards by keeping your household items clean and sanitized.
Wondering how often you should wash items in your wardrobe? Find out how often experts recommend cleaning your clothes »
Keep reading to learn more about how often you should common wash household items.
Bedroom Laundry
How Often Should You Change Your Sheets?
Keep your bed clean depends somewhat on your sleeping habits, but a good rule of thumb is to wash your sheets at a minimum of once a week (and wash them in hot water to remove any bacteria when you do).
If you don’t use your bed every night, you might be able to get away with changing your sheets every two weeks. If you sleep naked or sleep with your pets, experts recommend more frequent laundering.
Prone to getting acne on your face? Consider washing your pillowcase daily so that oils and dirt don’t have a chance to build up on your linens and cause irritation when they transfer back to your face. Also, just like how you need to change your toothbrush after you have a cold or the flu, you should change your sheets, too, to avoid reinfection and spreading germs once you’re better.
Kitchen Laundry
How Frequently Should You Wash Your Kitchen Towels?
It’s an unwritten rule to wash your kitchen towels every couple of days because of bacterial growth and the potential spread of nasty germs that can make you or your family sick from food poisoning.
The recommended frequency for washing kitchen towels increases, though, if you’ve used a one after handling food like raw meat. In these cases, replace it right away and get a fresh kitchen towel.
If you’re immunocompromised, you may want to stick with a daily wash schedule for your kitchen towels, too, as a way to reduce germs and keep your kitchen as sanitary as possible.
However, if you use your kitchen towels infrequently and only use them for drying dishes and pots after you have washed them (and you remember to hang them up after use in a way that allows them to dry properly), then you can probably get away with switching them out once a week.
What about Dish Rags?
Dishcloths that you use for tasks like wiping down your kitchen counters and washing pots and dishes should be changed out daily to keep bacteria away. Experts recommend that you start every morning with a clean, fresh dishrag to keep your kitchen safe.
Don’t forget that how you dry your dishcloths also matters, too. Make sure you hang your dishrag in a way to make sure it dries between uses to help keep mildew from growing.
Bathroom Laundry
How Often Should You Change Your Bath Towels?
To prevent the growth of bacteria, you should be washing your bath towels after every three uses, which comes in at about twice a week if you shower daily.
The same timeline recommendation applies to face towels and bathroom hand towels. Make sure to hang so your bath towels, face towels, and hand towels so they dry completely between uses. If you find a fallen damp towel crumpled on the floor that smells funky because it didn’t dry properly, put it straight in the wash and start with a fresh one.
Need a Hand Staying on Top of Your Household Laundry?
Keeping up with how often you should wash household items can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.
Classic Cleaners can help you get ahead of the cleaning curve and create a safer, cleaner home—whether you need laundry help every week or only every once and a while after you’ve had house guests. When you use our professional wash and fold laundry service, Classic Cleaners will take care of everything, even the sorting and folding!
We offer easy drop off at any of our locations in and around central Indiana or schedule free pick up and delivery.
After that, all you have to do is fill a Classic Cleaners’ laundry bag with everything you want to be washed, and you’ll receive your household laundry back clean and folded.
Our free, reusable bags are big enough to hold multiple loads of laundry. We’ll clean and sanitize whatever everyday items you can fit into your laundry bag.
Have questions about our laundry service? Learn more about Classic Cleaners’ hassle-free wash & fold service »
Want help cleaning your households? Get started with Classic Cleaners’ convenient laundry service »
Have other household items that need seasonal cleaning? Classic Cleaners also professionally cleans blankets, area rugs, table linens, down pillows, drapes, and more.
